Promised Place
by Colors del Cielo
Summary: The darkness is encroaching upon his territory, and Hibari is reminded of a day spent with a sky-gazing boy. – Hibari-centric, AU in an afterlife, oneshot


_Another one of Shiro's! I seem to be on a supernatural streak lately. and they seem to be getting more confusing and complicated . . . please, don't get discouraged if you don't understand everything at first. It should clear up in the end. Remember, this is ENTIRELY AU!  
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_Also, there is some mild blood, but no real violence. And for all readers unfamiliar with the Japanese language, please look up the honorifics. Oh, and "Ni-hao" is a greeting in Chinese.  
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_Yes, those phrases at the beginning of each part are taken from the English translations of "Sakura Addiction" sang by Takashi Kondo (Hibari) and Toshinobu Iida (Mukuro).  
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_I can't believe it's taken me so long to write this story, alksjgowihgwovsgbawhow. I'm sorry for this late late late late birthday fic, Hibari!_

___Katekyo Hitman Reborn! and characters © Amano Akira_

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_**I. slips through the gates as usual**_

With each ghost that passed through the Void, the darkness seemed to grow. Hibari Kyoya could see the hazy wisps of inky black reaching further and further, clutching at every spirit he helped across. And frankly, the increasing number of passengers touched by these dark stains was starting to bother him. Although the darkness always let the spirits continue on untainted at the end of the journey, it insisted on lingering just a few seconds longer with each trip he made.

"Mister Sakura?" called a hollow child's voice.

The sound echoed across the glowing Spirit River. The luminescence of the floating Soul Lights bounced off the rippling surface of the waters, lighting up Hibari's rowboat, the _Skylark_, with shimmering refractions.

Hibari sighed, cursing his given title. He would never understand why his boss would choose such a fragile flower for his name. Then again, Lady Uni used plants to name nearly everything and everyone under her power. Apparently, one of her oldest friends had loved the Japanese flower language. Hibari often wondered who this mysterious "white-haired, lavender-eyed" man was, and why he was so important to her. But that was Uni's secret to keep, he assumed.

Returning to his task at hand, Spirit Conductor Sakura turned to the small creature that had spoken, fixing his steel grey eyes upon the spectral ghost of a black-haired child with a bullet hole in his neck. A faintly glowing lightning bolt marked the boy's left cheek, symbolizing his affinity for that element. And judging from his nervous energy, Hibari predicted that he'd be perfect as a young, lively Lightning Guardian. Returning his gaze back to the sparkling waters ahead, he resumed his paddling, dipping the long metal oar systematically, left, right, left, right.

"What is it, child?" the raven-haired man replied, not even bothering to make eye contact as he spoke.

A pause. Then, "I'm scared. My little sister and I were separated, and I was wondering if she went ahead or not."

At the unresponsive silence from the Conductor, the ghost stammered, "I-I mean, not like you'd know or anything, but just in case . . ."

"You'll see her again."

". . . Mister Sakura, sir?"

Hibari glanced once at the boy before repeating firmly, "You'll see her again. Don't worry over pointless things, boy."

Hibari Kyoya often wondered why he showed compassion towards animals (ghosts were technically animals, too) that would never stay by his side long enough to return his kindness. Sometimes, he wondered why he chose to pick this path. After all, it's not like he received any personal gain from ferrying these dead spirits, nor from reassuring them.

_How lonely, Kyoya_, the darkness cooed. The man merely readjusted his pitch black robes, curling them tighter about his body. The violet ring on his middle right finger became dead cold.

_**II. my empty days go on**_

Hibari had learned quickly that the concept of time was lost within the Void. None of the ghosts could ever accurately place the era, as Hibari had figured out from asking them. One boy would say that he had just experienced the turn of the millennium; another would refute this claim by saying that it was mid-century, whaddya know? After a while, Hibari tired of hearing their contradictions, and he stopped asking.

When he had brought up the topic with Uni, she had giggled girlishly, and then explained, "As you've probably noticed by now, neither you, nor I, nor any of the other Spirit Conductors age at all. Time simply doesn't affect us here. And anyway, the journey to reach this part of the afterlife takes spirits variable amounts of time, so asking them would be meaningless. Some take years to reach the Spirit River, others mere seconds. And few arrive looking exactly like they did when they died."

Hibari frowned. It wasn't that the idea of immortality bothered him, but the recent monotony of his job, coupled with the multiplying presence of the darkness, made him wonder just what was happening in the world of the living. If the Void was in a downhill battle against the darkness, what about the human world? He understood that there was a direct connection between the state of this world and the world of his birth, so it mildly worried him—he was technically human, after all.

But he set those worries aside once he reached the Dock of Departure and the waiting crowd of murmuring spirits.

The first thing he noticed about this particular group was the shocking variety of elements present. If he had counted correctly, five of the seven affinities were there. Lady Uni had just finished placing a lightning bolt on the face of a black-haired Chinese girl.

"Ah, perfect timing, Hibari-kun! You have the privilege of taking this unique bunch to the other side. Go ahead, introduce yourselves to Sakura, your Spirit Conductor," the azure-eyed girl ordered kindly, ushering them towards the edge of the dock.

While the others shuffled slowly forward, a tall, black-haired Japanese man quickly plopped himself down and stuck out his hand. He didn't seem to notice the dried blood on his fingertips, nor the rusty red tint staining the chest area of his suit.

"Hi, Sakura-san! Name's Yamamoto Takeshi! It's nice to see a fellow Japanese here."

Ah, those raindrops imprinted on his neck truly did fit his calming personality. Hibari resisted the urge to shake the (bloody) outstretched hand, opting instead to watch his other passengers step gingerly into the boat.

The Chinese girl was the next to speak to him. "Ni-hao! My name is I-Pin. Please take good care of me!" She bowed and seated herself gracefully, politely pulling up her collar to hide the bright red slit across her throat.

He was mildly surprised when she took out a crinkled photo, and was even more surprised when he recognized the lightning boy from earlier on. _I suppose I wasn't lying to him, then. His sister really might see him again._ And, noting the green zigzag on the girl's right cheek, they had a high possibility of working together as Lightning Guardians in the future.

_Lucky them,_ Hibari thought to himself._ Most people never get the chance to meet their loved ones ever again. But unfortunately, they weren't lucky enough to live a few more years before getting murdered._

Ignoring his twinge of sympathy,—_remember your humanity, Kyoya?_— the Spirit Conductor smirked at the rest of the ghosts, issuing a challenge for another brave soul to speak to their intimidating guide.

"Oya, oya. I am Mukuro Rokudo. I hope you'll do better than the other Conductors," an indigo-haired man drawled as he situated himself towards the back of the vessel, leaning back leisurely to expose the mist tattoos trailing along his collarbone.

He'd had more than one Conductor? Perhaps it had something to do with his name, "Rokudo," and the Six Paths of Reincarnation. Regardless, everything about thisenigmatic man gave off bad vibes. Even more suspicious was the fact that he had no visible signs of trauma, unlike the other spirits. And he certainly didn't look like a person who would have had a peaceful death.

Hibari also noted with alarm that, if he looked closely enough, he could glimpse the shadow of a small, emaciated girl behind Mukuro. The Conductor decided to keep a close eye on him.

The next spirit, the one with a bold sun mark in the center of his head, leaped into the vessel, causing the boat to rock back and forth violently. Hibari's face contorted into a disapproving frown. He was not looking forward to having his beloved _Skylark_ capsized.

"EXTREME!" shouted the man with the bleached platinum hair, before he had to stop to hack up thick sludge, staining his palms a bloody grey. "I am Sasagawa Ryohei! I can see you take your job very seriously, Mister Sakura! You should have been a firefighter with me. We appreciate hardworking guys like you!"

So that explained the ash in his lungs and the soot in his hair. Death by fire. Hibari had to admit that he felt a bit of respect for selfless fools like him. And more than a little sorry that such passion was usually fated to die much sooner than selfishness.

Finally, the last man, a sullen, silver-haired Japanese-Italian, stepped carefully into the boat and seated himself next to I-Pin. He, by far, appeared to have had the most brutal death; his chest was riddled with bullet holes, and his red shirt was drenched crimson with the blood from the slashes across his chest and neck. He growled a warning at the concerned glances of Yamamoto and the impressed gaze of Mukuro in favor of staring straight at Hibari, grey-green eyes unwavering.

"Gokudera Hayato. This is a pretty shitty place we're in right now. The 'Void,' you call it? Well, I hope wherever you're bringing us is going to be better." And with that said, Gokudera closed his eyes and sighed, pretending to sleep. His stormy attitude explained the tornados emblazoned on his right arm.

Hibari grasped the anchoring rope and loosened it as he spoke, "I see. Well, I assure you all that as much as you may think I enjoy being a Conductor,"—he threw a hard stare at Sasagawa—"I do not appreciate any disorder of _any sort_. So I ask that all of you remain silent for this trip, and that you, under no circumstances, _touch the darkness._ We Conductors have been having enough problems as is without our passengers trying to reach outside the boats."

Hearing no complaints, Hibari nodded once, firmly, before dipping his oar back into the Spirit River. Far off into the distance, he could see the violet rowboats of the other Spirit Conductors.

The cloud brand over Hibari's dead heart seemed to beat faintly to a slow rhythm. _Ba-thump. Ba-thump. Ba-thump._

Funny how he never knew what it sounded like when he was truly alive.

_**III. Spring's escape route**_

When the rowboat _Skylark_ reached its final destination at the Dock of Choice, Hibari saw the small figure of Lady Uni waiting for them, the pure whiteness of her uniform providing a stark contrast to the eddies of darkness filling the Void.

Gokudera, Yamamoto, Mukuro, I-Pin and Sasagawa made their way cautiously onto the pier. The trip hadn't been kind to them; more than once, tendrils of clumped blackness had snagged their clothing and grabbed at the oar. The first time, I-Pin nearly fell out of the boat in shock. Even as the tired spirits clambered onto the dock, the darkness swirled closer, searching for an opening in order to drag one of them down.

Luckily, however, the presence of Lady Uni kept the malevolent entity at bay.

"Welcome, travelers! If you have forgotten, my name is Uni," the small girl began. Her elegant smile caused dimples to appear, drawing attention to the orange flower tattoo by the corner of her left eye.

Lightly touching the strange mark, she continued, "Now, before we go on, you need to understand the importance of these symbols that I gave you at the Dock of Departure. Every soul that passes through this place—the Void—is assigned a marking that matches with their strongest elemental affinity. For example, I am of the Sky element, and therefore I received an orange marking."

At the surprised rustling sound from the group of ghosts, Uni simply laughed brightly, "Yes, I was once in your position, too. Don't forget that all spirits you see from now on have traveled a similar path as you."

"So do all dead people come here?" Sasagawa asked bluntly, a perplexed expression on his face.

Towards the back of the group, Gokudera groaned softly, and Hibari noticed him mumbling a word that sounded like _idiot_.

"Actually, Gokudera-kun, Sasagawa-kun asked a decent question. You see, not all spirits are able to reach this place. You may not know this, since you are newcomers, but the Void has been receiving less and less visitors lately. We believe that the fault lies with this darkness you see all around you. It seems to be interfering with the natural cycle, causing souls to lose their way."

At this, all five of the ghosts scrutinized their surroundings warily, instinctively moving into a protective circle.

Uni's giggles pulled their attention back. "No need to worry now, though. You've safely made it here, and my Sky shield will neutralize the darkness's powers. Now, onto the next step in your journeys. Hibari-kun, if you would, please?"

The Spirit Conductor reached into a box engraved with violet clouds and pulled out a spiked needle-ball. Tapping it once, he tossed it a few inches above his outstretched palm and watched as the needles and outer shell dissolved away to reveal a solid black box the size of his head. It landed softly in his hand.

Ignoring the awestruck expressions on the spirits' faces, he stepped off the _Skylark_ and handed the box over to Uni. He took several steps back, poised with refined grace, as the petite girl continued her explanation.

"These, here, are the rings that are proof of one's Guardianship. And each Guardian has a certain colored ring corresponding with their elemental affinity. Once you receive the ring, and your new name from me, you will continue on to the gate further down this path."

Uni took a moment to gesture towards the rainbow-colored path that extended from the dock to the dark horizon.

"The gatekeepers there will assign you different tasks according to your element, and you will return to the human world as an elemental spirit that will guide and nurture the world and the human race. Except, of course, the Cloud Guardians, who return here to carry out their job as Conductors after receiving their powers."

Yamamoto chuckled and scratched the back of his head with a thoughtful expression on his face. "That sounds kinda fun. I wouldn't mind going back to help out a little."

Sasagawa nodded in agreement, and I-Pin smiled wistfully at the photo still held in her hand. Gokudera made a _tch!_ sound, but regret dampened his angry expression.

"Ah, but you may want to choose the other option. Those of you who want to be reborn will return to the Dock of Departure with Hibari-kun. You will keep walking back until your soul is called away to inhabit a body in the human realm. You will not remember anything of your past life, but you _will_ get an opportunity to live another one."

Mukuro averted his eyes as Uni turned to him, and a wry smile appeared on her face. "Except for certain souls that have abnormally high spiritual energies. _These few_ may recall their previous lives. But I believe you have completed all the paths, Mukuro-kun."

"Kufufu. Why, you guessed correctly, my lady. But I will be choosing the path of the Guardian this time around. I have grown rather bored off this repetitive cycle."

"That's fine," Uni agreed. She offered the box to the rest of the group and asked, "Now which path will you choose?"

And as all of them stepped forward to receive their rings, Hibari couldn't help but notice that she never mentioned the dangers of accepting the rings, the sacrifices they'd have to make, the humanity they would lose as time passed eternally. Nor did she ever tell them the doubts that they would suffer.

But maybe that was just him.

_**IV. "This is good enough."**_

Hibari checked his watch. He scowled darkly at the hands of the clockface. He never understood why the hour hand was shorter than the minute hand. Why should the one that represents a longer amount of time be shorter than the one that measured a mere sixtieth of the first?

Not that it mattered to someone who was perpetually not aging.

"Uni, I need to speak with you."

The girl gazed after the disappearing forms of the five soon-to-be-Guardians—Lilac, Coreopsis, Morning Glory, Peony, Lotus—for a while longer before walking back to Hibari, who was standing by his empty, moored boat.

"Yes, Sakura-kun?"

A sigh. "Don't call me that. A flower name does not suit me."

Uni laughed in high, chiming notes. "Aw, you're no fun, Hibari-kun," she pouted, grinning.

As Hibari took the box from her hold and returned it to his needle-sphere, he responded grimly, "I'm not here for fun, only to complete my job. Speaking of which, the darkness is inhibiting my _Skylark_, and the trips are getting more difficult."

His eyes narrowed as he stepped back onto his weathered vessel, continuing, "No serious damage has been done, but I have observed a considerable amount of dying will being leeched from some of my weaker passengers. I will not tolerate this any further. There must be something you can do to fix this, Uni."

"Oh, I forgot that you are technically a newbie here. From what I said before, you know that the darkness has been stealing away souls that should be coming here. But what you don't know is that this phenomenon has already happened multiple times in the past."

The look on Hibari's face spoke of something violent if Uni didn't get straight to the point.

"The solution is simple, Sakura-kun. We need to have a Catharsis soon."

"Don't call me that. And I'm afraid I have no idea what you mean by this 'Catharsis.' A cleansing?"

"Hmm. Just keep your eyes open, and you'll see."

_**V. the ball I lost and gave up on**_

Once upon a time, in the human world . . .

16-year-old Hibari's eyes watered as he stared up at the sky, trying to keep his eyes open. As soon as he blinked, there was a clicking sound of a button being pressed, and then he was crushed by the weight of another teenager.

"Kyoooyyaaaaa! I win! I win! You had your eyes open ten seconds less than me!" Sawada Tsunayoshi, age 14, announced gleefully.

Hibari sighed tolerantly before gently pushing the other boy off so that he rolled next to him in the grass. Two pairs of eyes stared up, one a flinty blue, the other a warm chocolate brown.

"I don't even understand why you wanted to do such a pointless competition in the first place."

Stretching out on his belly, Tsuna grinned down at his stopwatch and camera before dropping it to pluck some dandelions. Drizzling the flower heads all over his friend, he laughed freely at the irritated look on the other's face. The glinting of the sunlight reflecting off the bell on Tsuna's necklace, momentarily blinded him.

"Then," Tsuna giggled, the tiny tinkling of the bell matching the sound, "how 'bout we meet here later on to watch the sun set?"

"Another one of your silly plans, Tsunayoshi? You never grow up."

Tsuna whined, smacking Hibari playfully. "And here I was, thinking that you grew out of insulting me. You're such a mean childhood friend, Kyoya!"

"Hmpf," Hibari grunted as Tsuna whacked him a little harder on the stomach. "Oh? Is that a challenge, herbivore?"

The two teenagers started tussling, laughing and smiling as they shoved each around. A few minutes, they spread out once more in the field, gazing at the wispy clouds far above.

The older boy groaned finally and said, "Yes. I'll be here to watch with you. Happy now, Tsunayoshi?"

Hibari couldn't hold in a chuckle when he saw the stupidly happy expression on Tsuna's face. The radiant smile was contagious, too.

"Yes! I'll be extra extra early, okay? Here," he replied, flicking the bell at his neck, "you'll be able to know it's me by this sound, since it'll be kinda dark. Who knows what creepy things could be roaming around at night? _OOooooOOooO~_"

Ignoring the other's sad attempts at being a ghost, Hibari retorted sarcastically, "With your loud mouth, I'll know it's you for certain." This earned him an indignant flail.

But when Hibari Kyoya marched up the hill that night, he was left alone for hours. Tsuna didn't show up. Only one child was there in the hilltop clearing to watch the sky turn grey.

And when Hibari walked back along the road, still alone, he heard a loud rustling in the bushes, and then a stabbing pressure pierced his head. The next time he opened his eyes, he was standing at the Dock of Departure. A small, blue-eyed girl dressed in white turned to her companion, a platinum blond man, and whispered something to him. Then she stepped forward to greet the hollow-eyed spirit.

"Welcome to the Void, Hibari-kun. I am Lady Uni. Please hold still for a moment." A bubbling warmth sprung up where she touched him, over his heart. He felt her tender fingers brush his cheeks lightly, her hand coming away with a shimmering salty wetness. Then she stepped back with a heartbreaking smile.

"My name is Alaude. I will be your Spirit Conductor for your trip." The solemn guide merely waited until the spirit stopped crying before dipping his metal oar into the Spirit River.

And then later, after he'd accepted his position as a Cloud Guardian, he had returned as Sakura the Spirit Conductor.

With a new name and a new purpose, he could forget about Tsunayoshi. He could forget about the broken promise and the sunset and the bell. He could forget his only friend.

After all, time heals all wounds. (What had he cried over anyway? Only humans had hearts to cry with, and he certainly wasn't human anymore.)

_**VI. I put away the dirtied spike**_

The reflection of the Soul Lights in Hibari's eyes was nothing like the orange-tinted sky he had watched with Tsuna.

_Oh, but not "with Tsuna" because he never showed up, right?_ something cackled at him.

Over time, Hibari's memory had grown cloudy, and the lack of effort to recover the lost tidbits only increased the haze in his mind. He couldn't remember how many souls he'd helped cross over. He couldn't quite remember the faces of those he'd guided.

As the years passed on, he had locked away his emotions and regret, focusing on his new purpose and trying to forget about his previous life. To keep true to his oaths to himself and ignore the broken promises in his past.

But despite all his apathy, he still felt mildly impatient to see this "Catharsis" that Uni had spoken of. He felt a twinge of anticipation and wondered why.

_**VII. just like you**_

The moment Hibari docked at the empty pier, a spirit materialized in front of him, Uni not long after. But what shocked him the most was not seeing the moment of a ghost's arrival for the first time, but the person that had appeared.

It was Sawada Tsunayoshi, still looking about fourteen years old.

The Lady of the Sky was grinning when she arrived, but her steps stuttered to a stop when she saw who was staring back at her with deep orange eyes.

"It seems like you might get to see the Catharsis sooner than I'd predicted," she murmured.

Hibari's brows furrowed slightly in confusion, but his wide eyes remained fixed on the boy, his body frozen in the _Skylark_. His mind worked furiously to clear up his cloudy memories, trying to know _for certain_ if the boy in front of him was truly his Tsunayoshi.

"Welcome to the Void. My name is Uni. Before we start though, please hold still for a moment." And she placed an orange flower mark on his left cheek, identical to the one by her own eye.

Hibari noticed how she had omitted his name. A flash of panicked emotions threatened to spill out of him. It couldn't possibly be—

"Because you are of the Sky affinity, you have a special choice to make. The first is to become a Sky Lord, and keep the harmony among the living, elemental and spiritual worlds balanced. You would be our Fourth Sky Ruler, standing alongside me, Lady Aria and Lady Luce. As the newly inducted Lord, you'd maintain majority power over these realms, and we would take supporting roles. If you choose this now, I will perform the necessary procedure here, and then you'll be free to take your elemental ring as proof," she explained softly, holding his strong gaze with her own.

"Or," Uni continued, "you can decide to step onto that rowboat with your Spirit Conductor, Sakura. However, you will be snatched away by the darkness because of your Sky affinity, the strongest element of the seven. You will be taken as a sacrifice for the darkness to stay away for another thousand cycles. We don't know what happens to your soul if you choose to do this."

Hibari's boat was essentially going to be the sacrificial platform, the plate that the darkness would devour the boy's soul from. He could not accept this, even if that wasn't his Tsunayoshi.

"Lady Uni—" Hibari started to interject.

But Maybe-Tsuna glanced at the melting, swirling darkness, at the violet-hued rowboats that dragged along, full of ghosts who were already being grabbed and pulled on by the greedy darkness. He could see that even the Spirit Conductors were starting to be touched by the darkness, tugged by forces they couldn't fend off. And then he stared at Hibari Kyoya, a strange look in his eyes, not quite recognition but not quite the opposite either.

"I'm the only one who can do this?" he interrupted. "The only one who can save this place, the Void?"

Uni nodded, a sad look darkening her eyes. "It can take unpredictable amounts of years and decades for a Sky affinity to even appear. That's why there are only three Rulers now. There is no way to predict when the next one will come, and how long it could take for him to reach the Spirit River."

Maybe-Tsuna turned to stare across the waters, at the glittering Soul Lights, at the endless blackness. He turned to Hibari, perched upon the _Skylark_, and the fear in the man's gaze as he struggled to catch up to what was happening. Inexplicably, Hibari saw the sunset reflected in the boy's suddenly chocolate brown eyes, and the brightness of a star in his smile.

Hibari saw the necklace around the boy's neck and roared his disapproval too late.

And Tsuna took a step forward.

The moment the boy's foot stepped into the boat, the darkness swooped in. It enshrouded him, coiling in on itself before receding far into the distance with a tinkling, bell-like sound.

_**VIX. ephemeral**_

That memory of the day of his death was a lie. Hibari could only recall half of the real story. But his memory returned just as Tsuna was snatched away once more.

That one evening, Sawada Tsunayoshi _had_ met the young Hibari Kyoya at the top of the hill at their promised place. Hibari had heard the delicate chimes of the bell and greeted the other boy as he entered the clearing. They had gazed up at the melting sunset together, wishing they could fly into the sky.

But then Tsuna and Hibari had heard the screams of the people in their village down the hill. Hearts in their throats, they had raced down the road, able to intercept the robbers as they tried to escape along the road. The thieves, temporarily confused by the two teenagers in their way, had halted for a moment, but were motivated to move again by the villagers approaching from behind. So one man had pulled out a gun and shot Hibari in the forehead.

And then Tsuna was stabbed as he tried to protect the fallen Hibari.

Cradling Hibari's bloody head to his own bleeding chest, Tsuna had whispered, "Please wait for me."

You don't cry when you're sad, or when you're happy.

You cry when you're scared (of being alone, of being left alone, of leaving others).

Hibari Kyoya cried again as the last remnants of darkness fled the Void.

"Tsunayoshi," he whispered in reply, "I'm waiting. I'm waiting again."

_Please come._

_**X. I have come to retrieve the lost article**_

Sakura guided the _Skylark _through the waters of the Spirit River. Seated facing the Conductor was a teenager with a violet cloud tattoo over his heart.

"Why do you look so anxious, child?" Sakura asked, glancing at the dark hole in the boy's forehead.

"I'm waiting for my friend, because he said he would meet me later."

"Hn. I had someone like that too, once. But that was a long time ago, and he still hasn't come. I wonder if I remembered our promise incorrectly," Sakura replied, only a trace of wistfulness changing his otherwise serious expression.

"What are you talking about, herbivore? Of course he'll be there."

That ended the discussion.

The boat continued along the river, the Soul Lights bobbing above the surface in joyful patterns. There was no darkness in sight.

Eventually, Sakura saw their destination come into view. But as the rowboat approached the Dock of Choice, he noticed another vessel moored to the pier, with two figures standing side by side on the wooden planks. One had platinum blond hair. The other had soft brown hair and eyes to match.

The boat rocked violently as the teenager ran to front of the boat, smirking smugly and saying, "See? I told you he'd be here. Tsunayoshi!"

The familiar brown eyes locked onto the incoming boat, meeting two identical pairs of steel grey eyes, one wide in astonishment and one shining with happiness.

"Kyoya!"

Sakura smiled for the first time since his death.

_Do you think I should I take the rainbow path?_

_I don't see why not. You get to be a Lord. Isn't that what you always wanted?_

_. . ._

_What is it, herbivore?_

_Will you . . . will you stay with me?_

_I will. I was going to choose the rainbow path anyway._

_Thanks! I was worried for a moment._

_But we'll eventually be separated because of our different elements._

_No! That's not fair!_

_Although, I do recall my Spirit Conductor telling me that Sky Rulers have privileges._

_. . . really? Like what?_

_Hmm. Such as visiting the Void anytime they want._

_Then I'll come see you while you're working as a Spirit Conductor here!_

_Hn. Another silly plan. But one I approve of this time._

_Yes! I'll make sure I'm extra extra EXTRA early, okay?_

_Stupid, there's no time here._

_Doesn't matter to me~_

_. . . Tsunayoshi?_

_Yeah, Hibari?_

_Do you still have the bell?_

_Of course! Why?_

_Could you ring it for me? Just once more._

_All right._

_Thank you . . ._

_. . . ding . . . . . . . . . . . .  
_

_. . . . . . ding . . . . . . . . .  
_

_. . . . . . . . . ding . . . . . .  
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_. . . . . . . . . . . . ding . . .  
_


End file.
